SAP Authorizes Distributors To Carry Its Business Intelligence Software

The expansion of the SAP PartnerEdge program to recruit distributors for SAP BusinessObjects software kicked off late last week at the company's China Sapphire conference in Beijing.

ACA Pacific, a leading Australian distributor of specialized IT systems, and China National Software & Services Co. Ltd., a Chinese global IT service company, are the first distributors enlisted for the initiative, said Kevin Gilroy, SAP senior vice president, global indirect channels, in an interview.

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While the effort began in Asia/Pacific, Gilroy said SAP is recruiting distributors in all regions to resell the BusinessObjects product line. "This will be global," he said. "We're in deep discussions with distributors around the world. You'll see this in all regions."

Before now, the only SAP business intelligence software resold through distributors has been Crystal Reports, the ubiquitous report writer package that Business Objects bought in 2003. SAP acquired Business Objects in 2008.

Under the new arrangements, solution providers and VARs who have a relationship with an SAP-endorsed distributor can obtain all SAP BusinessObjects, Edge edition software through those distributors. Edge edition products are releases of the BusinessObjects software packaged specifically for the channel.

Adding distributors to the pipeline will help SAP expand its reach into SMB markets for BusinessObjects products, Gilroy said. For solution providers, the move to authorize distributors will provide a single point of contact for VARs that don't want to negotiate a reseller deal directly with SAP. VARs also gain more access to financing options, Gilroy said.

Gilroy said the distributor effort would be expanded to the U.S. and other regions during the next few quarters.

PUBLISHED JULY 30, 2012